Corpus Juris Civilis Law and Legal Definition
The term Corpus Juris Civilis signifies the body of the civil law, and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from ad 529 to 565. It consists of Justinian’s Institutes, the Pandects or Digest, the Code, and the Novels. The Corpus Juris Civilis was an attempt to systematize Roman law and Jurists and scholars trained in Corpus Juris Civilis played a leading role in the creation of national legal systems throughout Europe, and the Corpus Juris Civilis became the ultimate model and inspiration for the legal systems of most continental European nations. Law against heresy, paganism and Judaism are some of the laws contained in the Corpus Juris Civilis.
